Long Beach has ranked in the top 50 for most physically active U.S. cities, according to a report from Betterdoctor.com.
Betterdoctor.com created this list by evaluating cities across the U.S. based on health data like physical activity, healthy weight and access to quality parks.
More specifically, it gathered data of the percentage of residents who have had physical activity or exercise in the past 30 days, the percentage of city residents who are at a healthy weight and the acres of park space per resident as well as park spending per resident.
Long Beach was ranked No. 33., while Los Angeles was ranked No. 36. The overall most physically active city in the U.S. was Aurora, Colo., according to Betterdoctor.com.
According to Betterdoctor.com’s findings, Long Beach had a park expenditure of $126 per resident, 6.7 park acres per 1,000 residents, 37.5% of residents at a healthy weight, 79.2% of residents who have exercised in the past 30 days and a fit cities index score of 49.17.
“We focused on access in this study—in cities where some residents are working two jobs to make ends meet, infrastructure like parks and bike lanes can make a huge difference in the health of residents,” according to a statement from Betterdoctor.com. “In some cities, it’s easy to walk or bike to work, go hiking on the weekends and go for a walk in the park. In others, these things are considerably more difficult due to lack of infrastructure and outdoor space, weather, sprawl or other factors. We recommend taking small steps to incorporate physical activity into your daily life, such as taking the stairs or walking to work. In these lower-ranked cities, it’s especially important that residents plan exercise since it’s difficult to incorporate exercise into their daily habits.”